Ecumenical Altar Bread Recipes

Benedictine Catholic Altar Breads

Roman Catholic altar breads are available from the
Benedictine
Sisters
of Perpetual Adoration, but some congregations prefer locally-made
bread. Below are links to Web resources about altar bread in a variety
of
Christian
assemblies.

"A moderate mixing does not alter the species, because that little
is as it were absorbed by the greater. Consequently, then, if a small quantity
of another grain be mixed with a much greater quantity of wheat, bread may
be made therefrom so as to be the proper matter of this sacrament; but if
the mixing be notable, for instance, half and half; or nearly so, then such
mixing alters the species; consequently, bread made therefrom will not be
the proper matter of this sacrament."

"The limits for valid matter are quite clearly stated in Pope St Pius
V's Bull "De Defectibus" of 1572, and it states that any material other
than wheat, water, salt (and yeast for the Eastern Rites) will invalidate
the material."

"In a 1929 instruction, the Sacred Congregation for the Discipline of the
Sacraments taught that bread made of any substance other than wheat is invalid
matter, as is bread to which has been added such a great quantity
[emphasis added] of another substance that it can no longer be considered wheat bread in
the common estimation. ...The General Instruction of the Roman Missal #283 stipulates that
the bread for the Eucharist should have the appearance of real food and be made in such a way
that the priest is able to break it into parts and distribute them to at least some of the faithful.
Subsequent instructions from the Apostolic See have attempted to clarify the meaning of this law by
indicating that the "appearance" of bread applies to its color, taste, and thickness
rather than to its shape. From The Code of Canon Law: A Text and Commentary
(Commissioned by the Canon Law Society of America, page 657)."

320. The bread for celebrating the Eucharist must be made only from wheat,
must be recently baked, and, according to the ancient tradition of the Latin
Church, must be unleavened. (Chapter VI: The Requisites for the Celebration
of Mass, I. The Bread and Wine for Celebating the Eucharist).

"In some parishes it takes more faith to believe that the Holy Communion
wafer offered to the faithful is really bread than that it is truly the Body
and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ" (Catholic saying).